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The proposed Las Americas ASPIRA Academy Dual Language Charter School in Georgetown will open a year later than planned. The bilingual school, which originally expected to welcome its first students in September 2026, is now set to open in fall 2027 due to funding issues tied to a federal tax-credit program and the ongoing government shutdown.
ASPIRA of Delaware CEO Margie López-Waite said the delay stems from challenges securing funding through the New Market Tax Credits, a federal program that helps finance projects in low-income communities.
“It was funding, really, what it comes down to. … We needed to secure about $10 million in tax credits this past summer,” López-Waite said. “We were only able to secure half of that, and so that definitely shifted the timeline because it’s going to take a full 18 months to renovate this building.”
The new school will be housed inside Georgetown’s historic Ice House at 107 Depot St. Renovations were expected to begin this year, but with the federal shutdown slowing the tax credit process, López-Waite said progress has stalled.
“This program is a federal one, and as we all know, we have a shutdown going on,” she said. “People in these offices aren’t working, so things have come to a halt.”
Still, she said the project remains on track in the long term and that the team has already identified backup funding sources if the shutdown drags on.
